Welcome to Tween Row
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On a one-block stretch of Broadway between Broome and Spring Streets, dozens ofbaggy-jeans-wearing, Starface-pimple-patched, matcha-sipping 12-year-old girls wait on line. They’re here for a quintet of stores — Edikted, Brandy Melville, Princess Polly, Garage, and PacSun — that make up a new Tween Row of sorts, where polka-dot ruffled miniskirts and early-aughts-looking baby-doll tank tops sell for prices the equivalent of an hour or two of babysitting. Inside the stores, there are more lines — at the dressing rooms, at the cash registers — but for the teens, it’s worth the wait, even if only for the selfie.
“‘Oh my God, it’s so crowded. There’s so many tourists. Ugh, why do you want to go there?’” says 13-year-old Ella Wolf, mimicking her parents’ reaction toBrandy Melville(519 Broadway),which is typically her first stop on the block. Called simply “Brandy” by its fans, the one-size-fits-some store is where teens like Wolf go to find $38 dupes of Polo Ralph Lauren’s American-flag sweater, tank tops that say HAMPTONS and SAINT MORTIZ, and scalloped spaghetti-strap dresses. The first Soho location opened in 2011 and has always been crowded, but shoppers say that, within the past year, lines have started to stretch down the block — in part owing to its TikTok-famous store clerk, 17-year-old Allegra Pinkowitz. (Wolf says she and her friends specifically go to the location for a glimpse of Pinkowitz: “I once got a picture with her,” says 13-year-old Louise Truesdail.)
Across the street,Edikted(518 Broadway), which opened in 2023, draws even longer lines. On a recent Saturday, hordes of teens gathered to win prizes from the store (including $30 store credits and lettuce-edge socks). Inside, jeans with bow- and star-studded pockets and Paris Hilton–esque chiffon tank tops line the racks. Next door isPrincess Polly(514 Broadway),which sells the itty-bitty tube dresses that have become the de facto going-out getup of the preteen set; there’s also a photo booth. AtGarage(508 Broadway),high-schoolers hunt for scoop-neck camis and stretchy drop-waist dresses, and atPacSun(503 Broadway), the most surferish of the bunch, there are — if you haven’t had enough — more pieces from Brandy Melville, Edikted, and Princess Polly as well as a house line of teenified basics, including bow-adorned sweatshorts and rhinestone-clad denim.
For those born before 2008, Tween Row can be a drag. After walking out of PacSun, “I was like, Okay, I feel like I’m too old for that,” says 25-year-old Corinna Lagger. Many of the parents who wait on line with their teens look rather bored. But for some, it’s a chance to bond. “It’s kind of her shopping day, so it’s all about her,” says Kristen Vincent, a mom about to head into Edikted with her 11-year-old. “It’s a trade. I take her to wherever she wants here and then I go have lunch at Sant Ambroeus after.”
What Else Is New
Mociuncarries Caitlin Mociun’s signature fine jewelry (including diamond-encrusted pizza-slice charms), alongside her husband Tammer Hijazi and co-founder Danny Giannella’s Bower Studios home furnishings. Appointments are suggested.(683 Driggs Ave., Williamsburg; opened May 15)
The first U.S.Bao Bao Issey Miyakelocation will open in the space that formerly housed the brand’s Pleats Please collection and will carry the line’s triangle-tiled PVC bags plus a limited number of red bags that are exclusive to the store.(126 Prince St.; opening June 12)
Next to its women’s flagship on Fifth Avenue,Pradaopened a menswear boutique offering ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and a new made-to-order service for shoppers to customize their pieces.(720 Fifth Ave.; opened March 28)
The Little Bookshop, a bookstore, bar, and café, will sell new and used books, including many by writers of color, and host community events like poetry readings and jazz nights.(239 Bushwick Ave., East Williamsburg; opened May 17)
Brooks Brotherswill open a nearly 10,000-square-foot flagship in the AT&T Building in the Financial District (where one of the brand’s earlier stores closed in 2018). The full men’s and women’s collections will be available along with vintage items and a capsule collection with Junya Watanabe.(195 Broadway; opened May 17)
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